Protecting the Enemy
by Vernie
Summary: When someone hacks into the Pheonix Foundation's top-secret files, Mac must find the culprit. But when he discovers the unlikely suspect, he finds himself doing everything in his power to protect her. (My 1st Mac fic).
1. Default Chapter

_**rotecting the Enemy**_

**Chapter 1**

"I just can't believe it, Pete." MacGyver sighed as he stared at the blinking monitor in front of him. "Our best guys worked two years at perfecting the security features of this database, and now I can't even bring up a single simple record."

Peter Thornton grumbled, leaning forward in his executive chair to stare blindly (quite literally) at the large print in front of him: ACCESS DENIED. "All of that information, accessed, most of it probably erased completely…" He shook his head. "Whoever it was…they were a professional alright."

MacGyver reached down to turn of the PS/1, frowning as he did so.

"Most of these files were off-limits to even our most trusted employees, MacGyver," Pete continued. "Who knows what could become of the witness protection program now that they're in the wrong hands." He wrung his hands nervously, his anxiety plain to see. "We _must _find who did this."

"It won't be easy," MacGyver replied, peering at the blank screen in front of him. "I have nothing to go on; It will take some time."

Pete shook his head. "We don't have it."

MacGyver nodded.

--

MacGyver unlocked the front door of his boathouse, kicking off his sneakers before crashing onto the sofa. He picked up the remote control at his side, tuning into one of his favorite western movies. As hard as he tried to concentrate on the old black-and-white movie, he couldn't get his mind of the predicament at the Phoenix Foundation and after a few minutes, he shook his head, turning the television off before taking a seat at his computer.

"If I could just figure out how this guy broke into the central processing unit …" he said to himself, logging onto the Phoenix Foundation network. "It had to have been an inside job."

After another unsuccessful attempt at logging in, he sighed, picking up the telephone at his side to phone the office.

"Martha? MacGyver here," he said quickly. "Now I know we spoke about this this morning, but is there a chance you've processed those records yet?"

There was a long pause on the line.

"Why yes, Mr. MacGyver. I took the liberty of printing out the records of the office's visitors for the past three months," she answered. "Matter of fact, I just sent them to Mr. Thornton's office a half-hour ago."

MacGyver nodded in satisfaction.

"Thank you, Martha," he said before hanging up the phone.

He quickly slipped his sneakers back on, wasting no time driving back to Pete's office for a look at the records.

--

"Now Mac, I know I said there wasn't much time, but I didn't think you'd still be on the case at five in the morning," Pete laughed when he unlocked the door of his office the next morning to find a weary-eyed MacGyver sitting amongst a giant stacks of filing folders. "You are entitled to some shut-eye," he added.

MacGyver ran his fingers through his sandy-blonde hair. "I know Pete, but to tell you the truth, I don't think I'll be able to sleep until I come one more step closer at pinpointing how exactly this guy got through such tight security to hack into the most protected documents the Foundation has on file."

Pete set his coffee mug on the edge of his maple desk, looming over MacGyver's shoulder to take a peek at the highlighted documents.

"I've already ran a background check on everyone who was a non-employee that had even entered the building that day." He sighed. "I didn't turn up anything, but that really doesn't mean much, other than this guy is a first-time offender."

"Or someone who never gets caught," Pete pointed out.

"Right."

Peter shook his head. "There's so many lives at stake here… People who thought they were protected, valuable witnesses… It makes me rethink our entire process of doing things. The files would be safer if we still had our old system up and running—hard copies locked away in a filing cabin-"

"Pete…" MacGyver interrupted. "Who is this Charlie Dakota?"

Pete shook his head. "Charlie Dakota? Doesn't ring a bell…"

"Well according to this record, he's an employee of the Foundation."

Pete watched as MacGyver quickly picked up the phone. "Anderson? Mac again. I need a background on a Charlie Dakota. Employee."

"Sure, just a minute, Mac," Bill Anderson, one of the Foundation's investigators, replied.

MacGyver tapped his fingers on the desk as he waited.

"Charlie Dakota," Bill repeated over the line. "Date of birth: October 12th of '75… Worked here March 29th to the 15th of this month. Address: 407 West Washington Street. Custodian. That's all I have on 'em."

"Are you sure? That's only a two-week time span."

"One-hundred percent, Mac."

"Okay… Thanks Bill."

MacGyver quickly hung up the phone, spinning around in Pete's chair and standing up to place his hands on either of Pete's shoulders. "I think I just came that one-step closer Pete."

_TBC…_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"You mean you're telling me you think this Charlie Dakota only took a job here for easy access of the database?"

"Exactly," MacGyver replied, pulling open a drawer of one of the filing cabinets of the personnel department and rooting through it. "What better way to get something you want?"

Pete shook his head. "But we do an extensive screening of every employee that comes through the Foundation, why wouldn't we have caught this guy during his background check?"

"Because he has no prior record; therefore, no reason for us to be suspicious. He was the perfect guy for the job."

Pete frowned.

"Aha, found it," MacGyver said, pulling the folder marked 'Dakota' out of the drawer. "Strange thing is, according to his birth date, he's only 18 years old."

"And no-one remembers him working here?" Pete asked

"Strangely, no," MacGyver said, taking the keys to his Jeep out of his pocket then throwing them up into the air and catching them in the same hand. "Then again, the Foundation employs over 400 people and he only worked here for two weeks. Why would they?"

Pete shrugged. "Where are you going?"

MacGyver grinned, glancing at the home address listed on the record. "I'm going to go pay Mr. Dakota a little visit."

---

MacGyver's Jeep pulled to the curbside of an old weathered apartment house as he quickly checked the address again. It seemed likely that whoever Charlie Dakota was, he was no longer living here, but he knew he still had to give it a try.

He stopped to talk to an old man watering a few wilting plants in front of the decrepit house.

"You live here?" he asked him as the old man slowly stood up.

"Yes, Sir. Landlord."

"You mind tellin' me if Mr. Dakota still lives in one of your apartments?"

"Mr. Dakota…." the old man repeated to himself, bewildered. "No Sir, he doesn't. All of my tenants for the past two years have been women. They keep a tidier place, you know."

MacGyver nodded, not bothering to mention the Equal Opportunity Housing Act. "Any of them been married by chance? Boyfriends?"

The man shook his head. "No. Most of the ladies who live here are older women. Widowed." He paused in thought. "Though there was a young girl living in the upstairs apartment a couple of months ago. Pretty thing, about five months pregnant."

MacGyver paused, leaning against the rain of the front porch steps. "Pregnant? Do you remember ever seeing the father around here?"

The old man scratched his head. "He was here a few times. Temper like you wouldn't believe. But I believe he'd left her. Had gotten himself into some sort of trouble. Runnin' from the law from what I heard. It's a shame, you know. Leaving such a young girl like that to be a single mother."

"What was her name?"

"Mary,…. Mary something other. Name never did sound right. Like maybe it wasn't really hers, you know? I'm used to that sorta thing. I don't ask questions unless they become a problem."

MacGyver slowly nodded his head. "Any idea why she moved out?"

"Couldn't make the rent," he old man plainly replied, turning his attention back to the small potted plants on his front porch. "She still owes two months in back rent. I hate to kick someone out when they're already down, but that's how this business goes."

"Know where she went?"

"Nope," he replied. "Though chances are she headed for Eve's Place."

"Eve's Place?" MacGyver asked.

"Over on the corner of Green and Willington. Eve Barrington takes in girls who've found themselves in…_situations_."

MacGyver nodded, quickly walking back to the Jeep and starting it up.

The case was already looking up—now he had a lead. Sure he hadn't found Dakota, but he hadn't expected to. What he did find, though, would most likely bring him closer to the alleged criminal.

**A/N: **Yeah, I know. Short chapters. I actually had this one on a disk for about the past year. I added one sentence and it was suitable to upload. I promise longer ones from here on out. I just like to end the chappie before a major turning point. Youknowwhattamean?


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